


Gifts

by SociallyUnacceptableOrb



Category: Kirby (Video Games)
Genre: Child Abuse, Heavily Headcanon Based
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-08 23:00:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17395346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SociallyUnacceptableOrb/pseuds/SociallyUnacceptableOrb
Summary: Sectonia learns a very valuable lesson from her parents. That is, she would have if Sectonia wasn't convinced that she knew best.





	Gifts

**Author's Note:**

> This is a really late Triple Deluxe anniversary fic, but y'know what? I don't care.

The kingdom of Skytopia was warm and sunny, per the usual. The People of the Sky danced through the air, their soft cherubic wings fluttering at a fever pitch. They’d had a lot of work to do, being that the Princess Sectonia was turning thirteen the next week, and the royal family had insisted all able-bodied civilians do all they could to make sure Royal Road was perfect. Even inside the castle, there was hustle and bustle all about, but not nearly enough for the King’s taste.

“And you are to use only gold leaf as a garnish, blue and pink explicitly on the main cake, the rest can be either white or black, but they must all be the same color!”

King Thorax was busy marching down the hall, his mantis-like assistant dutifully cataloging his every word as he ranted. Since he had already run _everyone_ else into the dirt, why not her, too? She nodded and left his side to prepare as the king took a deep breath and rubbed his temples. His mind was dragged from its current thoughts as he noticed his wife gazing out across the courtyard.

“Aranea? What are you looking at?” The king asked his wife as he went over to her side. She said nothing as she pointed out through the massive window at the two small children playing in the garden. Sectonia was carrying little Taranza towards an empty flowerbed, one that the queen had meant to put more of her rare flowers in, and placed him beside the topsoil. Neither parent could understand what Sectonia was saying, but when a massive stalk burst from the ground, they had a hunch.

Taranza’s eyes lit up, and he reached towards the plant and began to slowly climb the stalk as Sectonia expanded its size, until it had swirled into a corkscrew and neatly leaned against the top of one of the gazebos. His mother paid no mind as she continued reading her book, her eyes briefly darting up at the dull thud.

“Oh my,” Queen Aranea said, with a tilt of the head and a slight raise of her eyelids. “I don’t believe that she’s allowed to do that. Somebody could get hurt.”

“You’re terribly right,” He said. “Especially with Lotte distracted like that. She must be shown the error of her ways.”

With a flick of one of his many wrists, Thorax set a tiny ember at the base of the stalk, not enough to singe the grass around it or set the entire thing blaze; just enough to weaken the stands. Tarzana neither noticed or cared as he went higher and higher, putting all his weight on a single branch. The strain and the flame broke the vine, sending him tumbling down without so much as a gasp. Sectonia screamed and caught him before he hit the ground.

“Again! Again!” the toddler giggled. But his mother would have none of it, as she stormed over to Sectonia’s side and snatched him out of the princess’s arms.

“What were you thinking, Sectonia? Taranza could’ve been killed!” Lotte reprimanded. “Learn to control your little skills once in a while, will you?”

“It’s not my fault! He shouldn’t have gone up so high!” Sectonia attempted to defend herself as she crossed her arms. “He didn’t know any better. He’s too little.”

Taranza wiggled in Lotte’s grip as he tried to reach out and touch the stalk again, but his mother spun around and floated away with an angry huff. He pouted and waved goodbye to his cousin as Sectonia turned on a dime to sulk. Sectonia huffed as well, but her blood froze when she looked up and saw her mothering hovering above her.

“Sectonia, come.”

The princess gulped as she waved a paw, and the stalk shriveled into mulch. Her mother led her deeper into the garden, deep into the orchard where they could find an abundance of apple trees. Aranea plucked one of the apples from the tree and ripped it open, prying a single seed from the core and handing it to Sectonia.

“Do that again, Sectonia.” She ordered. “Show me.”

“What?” the princess asked. “Why?”

“You created a stalk, didn’t you? I should hope a mere apple tree is easy enough for the likes of your magic.”

The princess hesitated, but gripped the seed and nodded. She walked over to a grassy patch framed with sunlight, planted the seed, and worked her magic. The tree she’d made wasn’t as large and encompassing as its progenitor, but it still bore a shiny new fruit on a branch, something the queen took note of as she plucked it. The apple from the tree was perfectly shiny and firm, until the queen jabbed her thumb into the flesh. It immediately began decaying as grey gooey fluid gushed out. Sectonia gave a small gasp and clapped her hands over her mouth as the queen gave the fruit another one of her disinterested looks.

“That’s what I thought.” The slimy apple slid out of her hands and fell with a splat on the forest’s floor. She pulled of the soiled glove with her teeth and placed it in a side pocket of her dress, not making eye contact with her daughter as she continued. “Look at all of these trees, Sectonia. They took years and years to reach their full potential. You made that one in mere seconds, and you received nothing but a waste.”

Sectonia bowed her head in shame as the queen walked past her. “True beauty comes from effort. Nothing in life ever comes for free, not even for royals such as us.

“Father gets a free ride.” Sectonia whispered.

The queen stopped in her tracks. “Excuse me?”

“I said, father gets a free ride!” Sectonia shouted. “Father and his pyromancy! That’s all he ever fights with! He doesn’t use rapiers, or war hammers, or flails, only his magic! And he only uses it to conquer and destroy! How am I the one in the wrong here, trying to create something that everyone could enjoy?”

“That is enough!” A hard whack to the side of her face stopped her from pressing the subject further, as the queen glared down at her. “Don’t speak about your father that way! If it weren’t for him, then Skytopia would still be an isolated kingdom! He has done what he must to bring us prosperity.”

Aranea sharply breathed in, and pushed back a few strands of her silver-white hair that had fallen out of place. “And don’t you dare bring this up around your friends.  Are we clear?”

Sectonia silently nodded, and the queen left her alone. The princess went back to the tree, now half as large as it had previously been, and knelt down beside it. It still looked fine, even if some of its leaves had gone paler, and the lack of apples was still a problem. Sectonia placed a hand against its trunk as she talked to herself.

“She’s wrong, you’re not worthless. Even if your apples can’t be shipped or sold, you still can feed the soil, the little scavengers. You don’t need to be beautiful, you just have to be.” Sectonia leaned up against the trunk and sighed. “Don’t worry. I’ll show them one way. Anything can blossom into something spectacular.”


End file.
